Farm-gate



w. D. HARRAH.

Farm Gate.

No. 44,306. Patented Sept.. 20,1864.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IV. D. HARRAH, OF DAVENPORT, IOIVA.

FARM-GATE.4

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 44,206, dated September 20, 1864.

To a/ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, l/V. D. HARRAH, of Davenport, Scott county, State of Iowa, have invented a new and Improved Farm-Gate 3 and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of my improved gate. Fig. 2 is a top view of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a View of one of the gate-posts.

Similar letters of reference indicate correspondin g parts in the three figures.

This invention is an improvement in hanging and sustaining that class of picket-gates which are opened or closed by a vertical swinging movement of one end of the gate.

My object is to connect the rails to which the pickets are pivoted to the main supporting-post in such manner that when the gate is fully open the upper rail will constitute a support or prop for relieving the main pivot from the weight of the gate, as will be hereinafter described.

Another object of my invention is to so connect the rails to the main post that while both rails can be thrown up in vertical positions and sustained against lateral displacement by said post, the upper rail will be pivoted to its post by a stationary pin, as will be hereinafter described.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will describe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawings, a a represent two pieces of timber, which have beveled edges a' a! and slots b b formed on them, and when set upright in the ground, at a suitable distance apart, constitute the main gate-post A for supporting the gate. The gate itself consists of two parallel rails, c c, to which pickets d d are attached at suitable distances apart by means of pivots e e. rlhe rail c is pivoted to the post between its two portions, a a, by means of a fixed bolt, j', which serves to prevent the upper ends of this post from spreading apart. The corresponding end of the lower rail, c', has a pin, g, passing transversely through it and entering the two vertical slots b b. These two pins f g form the connections of the gate to the main post and allow the two rails to be erected from a horizontal to a vertical position, as shown in Fig. 1. As the free end of the gate is raised, the rail c swings on its fixed pivot f, and the pin g lisos in its slots b, so as to allow the rails and pickets to fold together, as indicated in red lines, Fig. l.

One end of rail c is extended behind the pivot f a distance equal, or nearly so, to the height of the gate-post, and the extreme en d of this extended portieri c3 of the rail is beveled in such manner as to pass over and fit snugly on a v base-block (or other suitable bearing between the two portions of the post) when the rails stand in avertical position. By thus causing the rail c to rest 011 a suitable bearing when the gate is fully open, it will be seen that there will be very little, if any, strain upon the pivot f, the weight of the gate being in reality sustained by the said rail. The ends of both rails c c being pivoted between the two portions a a of the post, it will be seen that when the gate is open, these portions of the post will sustain the gateagainstdateral strain. Ilhe extended end of railc has a weight, c2, secured to it in such a manneras t0 counterbalance the weight of the gate, and thus enable a person to open or close the gate with very little exertion. Said weight is so applied to rail e that the extended portion will be allowed to swing down between the two portions of the gatepost, as indicated in rcd lines, Fig. 1. When the gate is closed, the free ends of the rails rest in the notches lo lin the post D, as shown in Fig. 3, and when in this position the pin n may be inserted over the upper rail, as represented, for locking the gate in a closed condition.

One ofthe advantages of my gate over others is that the upper rail is pivoted by a lixed pin to the gate-post A, and consequently a very long portion of said rail can be extended back of this pivot, thus giving great leverage and enabling the use of a lighter weight, c2, and consequently the use of a lighter rail, c. Another advantage is that the gate will fold up or open and close with a perfect parallel motion. This is in consequence of the stationary pivot of the upper rail, together with the vertical slots which guide the rear end of the lower rail and cause this end ot' said rail to rise and fall vertically with very little friction.

Having thus described my invention, I 3. rlhe bevels a a on the Tarts@ a of the elaim post, for the purpose described.

1. The slot b located as describedl for the pxlrposeset forth. 7 W D' HARRAH 2. The extension c3, aiding to sustain the Witnesses:

Weight of the gate and relieve the pin j', as set 'I RA M. GIFFORD,

fmth. i AUGUST VIRGIEN. Y 

